Possible to cover Great Ocean Road in less than 10 hours

Hi.

I will be on the Celebrity Solstice to Melbourne for one day from 8 am to 6 pm in late November. I am just wondering is it possible to cover the Great Ocean Road to the 12 Apostles within the 10 hours (without running the risk of missing getting back to the ship by the departure time).

And if so, what would be the best way of covering the Great Ocean Road (i.e. rental car, tour company, taxi, etc).

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

The answer ex Melbourne is most certainly no and cutting it too fine. To get down to Port Campbell is going to take you 4 - 5 hours each way traffic permitting . then you need to add on time for sightseeing .

It would be feasible to get as far as Lorne and return in that time frame, but that is well short of the Ship Wreck Coast section at Port Campbell. In that case arrange a hire car from the pier, remembering we drive on the left in Australia.

Until cruise ships spend more overnight stays in Melbourne, then sadly the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island penguins (nightly) continue to be out of bounds to cruise ship visitors .

Hi.

 

And if so, what would be the best way of covering the Great Ocean Road (i.e. rental car, tour company, taxi, etc).

 

Helicopter? http://www.heliexperiences.com.au/flight/best-seller/great-ocean-rd12-apostles/ Bit expensive though!

Short answer - Nope.

Also if 8:00 is docking time it's going to take you a while to disembark and pick up a car.

And if 6:00 is departure, you're going to have to drop the car off and re board the ship.

.

Hi.

 

I will be on the Celebrity Solstice to Melbourne for one day from 8 am to 6 pm in late November. I am just wondering is it possible to cover the Great Ocean Road to the 12 Apostles within the 10 hours (without running the risk of missing getting back to the ship by the departure time).

 

And if so, what would be the best way of covering the Great Ocean Road (i.e. rental car, tour company, taxi, etc).

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

.

 

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Ferrari Fxx, a police escort with roads blocked off to public traffic. If you can arrange it I will fly down and share the cost and driving duties! :p

Cheers

:cool:

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Hi.

 

I will be on the Celebrity Solstice to Melbourne for one day from 8 am to 6 pm in late November. I am just wondering is it possible to cover the Great Ocean Road to the 12 Apostles within the 10 hours (without running the risk of missing getting back to the ship by the departure time).

 

And if so, what would be the best way of covering the Great Ocean Road (i.e. rental car, tour company, taxi, etc).

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Theoretically you could do the GOR in 10 hours but it wouldn't leave a lot of room for error. And I assume you're asking the question because Celebrity don't have a shore excursion. It would be a lot of time in the car and not much time for stretching your legs and sight seeing.

The GOR is a long and winding dual carriage way (1 in each direction) coastal road that start at Anglesea and goes 243km to Warrnambool. The most popular tourist spot is the Twelve Apostles which are about 180km from the start (about 280km from Melbourne). Because it's a long and winding road, coach tours take an inland journey through dairy farming country direct to the 12 apostles. This makes it a quicker journey but you miss out on the wonderful coastal road, particularly between Lorne and Apollo Bay.

I'd suggest you're looking at 3&1/2 plus hour drive each way on the inland route (Melbourne to the 12 Apostles). If you're going to drive from the start of the GOR to 12 Apostles then it would be 4&1/2 plus hours each way (Melbourne to 12 Apostles).

Other things to consider - Given the nature of the road (narrow and winding) I wouldn't recommend it if you're not used to driving on the left; you're in Melbourne mid week so the GOR should not be too busy (weekends busiest).

So in summary, yes it's doable by yourself but not without risk and time constraints; a taxi would be cost prohibiitive; a coach could get you there and back but only to the 12 Apostles - you would need to do more research on this option.

If you want to see it then if available I would take a Celebrity shore excursion thereby ensuring you won't get left behind ... but it will be the inland route. Buses/coaches don't generally go along the GOR as it's to narrow and winding.

I just did a quick goolge search and found a company that does single day Melbourne to GOR tours from $88 dollars and they take 13 or 14 hours.

Plenty to see in and around Melbourne. Healesville sanctuary is a great option for native fauna if that's of interest to you.

Hope that helps

Rob:D

Also I see you mention doing it by Taxi, taxi's are very expensive n Australia starting from about $1.60 a km. The trip Melbourne to 12 Apostles is over 200 kms each way.

Now a taxi may give you a better deal because of the distance but at the above figures you're lookng at the best part of $700.00

Have a look at this....it may help.

2014 Sept - Melbourne Port Guide.pdf

I've done the drive ex-Melbourne CBD before and I remember it took us around 2 hours just to get to the start of GOR at Torquay. I certainly wouldn't recommend it if you are arriving on a cruise ship (I drove to Melbourne for a holiday and took my own car).

Even if the ship docks at 8am on the dot, you really wouldn't be able get off until at least after 8:30am, and possibly even later if it gets in late.

Though the departure time is 6pm, but you really need to get on by 5pm - in reality you don't really have a lot of time to play with. Remember it takes a few hours just to get to Torqauy. When you factoring in traffic incidents along the way, the margin is quite thin.

We are visiting Melbourne on the Diamond Princess in January. Though we are staying over night, 8am arrival and 1pm departure the next day, The Great Ocean Road isn't part of the Princess' excursion.

We were there in January on the Diamond Princess Auckland to Sydney and had a car booked with Budget Rent A Car. We took a taxi from outside the port and they took us to the budget office. We drove the GOR toward Geelong and then thru Torquay and Angelsea. We drove till about Apollo Bay so we didn't make it to the 12 Apostles, but we knew we wouldn't in advance. We were so happy with our drive though. Spectacular scenery along the way and we could get out whenever we wanted to. Once back in Melbourne, we checked out the Block Arcade so I'm guessing we could have driven further along the GOR. We got our car back to Budget and took a taxi back the ship with no problem.

Full review of my trip is in my signature line. We are from Texas and found driving on the left to be interesting to say the least, but doable.

Enjoy whatever you choose to do.

Connie

PAST CRUISES:

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

I think everyone else has covered all the reasons that you shouldn't do the GOR and I fully agree.

However if this is your first time in Melbourne it's a very lovely city and so easy and cheap to get around.

You will need to get a tram into the city which is directly opp where you will dock. This is a short trip. Once there you can get on the free tourist tram and opp Federation Square there is a free tourist bus that will take you a bit further out of the inner city area and you can get off at different places. All the info you need is on http://www.visitmelbourne.com. And when you get off the ship there will be a tourist information desk which will give you maps etc. Have a great time whatever you do.

Hi.

 

I will be on the Celebrity Solstice to Melbourne for one day from 8 am to 6 pm in late November. I am just wondering is it possible to cover the Great Ocean Road to the 12 Apostles within the 10 hours (without running the risk of missing getting back to the ship by the departure time).

 

And if so, what would be the best way of covering the Great Ocean Road (i.e. rental car, tour company, taxi, etc).

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

YES - It is definitely possible. Not sure where the other people are getting their information from but it is 100% possible.

I did a Celebrity Solstice cruise in March 2013 and saw much of the Great Ocean Road with plenty of sightseeing time.

Celebrity Cruises offered an excursion. I paid for a bus trip with Celebrity and we were the first off the ship. I know I left the ship after 7:15am because my last photo was taken from the ship at that time.

There will be a short stop in Anglesea before heading to Memorial Arch. The photos I took at Memorial Arch were taken at 9:52am. The next stop was Apollo Bay for a break and packed lunch on the bus. We got to Apollo Bay at 11:25am. From there we went straight to the 12 apostles. My first photo at the 12 apostles was taken at 1:12pm. Some people arranged a scenic helicopter flight at that place. My last photo was taken at the 12 apostles at 1:20pm. By 1:55pm we were at Loch Ard Gorge. We stayed at Loch Ard Gorge to 2:27pm according to my times on my photos. The last photo I took on that day was on Celebrity Solstice leaving Melbourne at 6:06pm.

So yes it is 100% possible. Been there, done that, and have the photos to prove it.

I would double check your scheduled time in Melbourne also as we were in Melbourne on Celebrity Solstice from 7am to 6pm.

YES - It is definitely possible. Not sure where the other people are getting their information from but it is 100% possible.

 

I did a Celebrity Solstice cruise in March 2013 and saw much of the Great Ocean Road with plenty of sightseeing time.

 

Celebrity Cruises offered an excursion. I paid for a bus trip with Celebrity and we were the first off the ship. I know I left the ship after 7:15am because my last photo was taken from the ship at that time.

 

There will be a short stop in Anglesea before heading to Memorial Arch. The photos I took at Memorial Arch were taken at 9:52am. The next stop was Apollo Bay for a break and packed lunch on the bus. We got to Apollo Bay at 11:25am. From there we went straight to the 12 apostles. My first photo at the 12 apostles was taken at 1:12pm. Some people arranged a scenic helicopter flight at that place. My last photo was taken at the 12 apostles at 1:20pm. By 1:55pm we were at Loch Ard Gorge. We stayed at Loch Ard Gorge to 2:27pm according to my times on my photos. The last photo I took on that day was on Celebrity Solstice leaving Melbourne at 6:06pm.

 

So yes it is 100% possible. Been there, done that, and have the photos to prove it.

 

I would double check your scheduled time in Melbourne also as we were in Melbourne on Celebrity Solstice from 7am to 6pm.

The only problem is you said off ship at 7:15 leaving 6:06 11 hours.

OP said 8:00 to 6:00 [or 10 hours], by your photos you were at 12 Apostles about 10 mins with an hour less it just doesn't work out.

Also they asked about driving the trip themselves, if they were asking about a Celebrity run tour my answer would have been different.

The only problem is you said off ship at 7:15 leaving 6:06 11 hours.

 

OP said 8:00 to 6:00 [or 10 hours], by your photos you were at 12 Apostles about 10 mins with an hour less it just doesn't work out.

 

Also they asked about driving the trip themselves, if they were asking about a Celebrity run tour my answer would have been different.

SO are you calling me a liar???

As you failed to reference in my above post I mentioned we were in Melbourne from 7am to 6pm so my first conclusion is that you cant read. My second conclusion is that you didn't bother to read the fact that I clearly stated that they should double check their schedule. I mentioned a Celebrity Cruises excursion as it would be the only possible way of doing the lot.

The only problem is you said off ship at 7:15 leaving 6:06 11 hours.

 

OP said 8:00 to 6:00 [or 10 hours], by your photos you were at 12 Apostles about 10 mins with an hour less it just doesn't work out.

 

Also they asked about driving the trip themselves, if they were asking about a Celebrity run tour my answer would have been different.

SO are you calling me a liar???

 

As you failed to reference in my above post I mentioned we were in Melbourne from 7am to 6pm so my first conclusion is that you cant read. My second conclusion is that you didn't bother to read the fact that I clearly stated that they should double check their schedule. I mentioned a Celebrity Cruises excursion as it would be the only possible way of doing the lot.

How am I calling you a liar?

I referenced what you said off the boat at 7:15 leaving at 6:06. Maybe you are the one who can't read.

And nowhere in your post, which I actually quoted verbatim do you say that the excursion would be the only way to do it. Here's what you posted:

YES - It is definitely possible. Not sure where the other people are getting their information from but it is 100% possible.

 

I did a Celebrity Solstice cruise in March 2013 and saw much of the Great Ocean Road with plenty of sightseeing time.

 

Celebrity Cruises offered an excursion. I paid for a bus trip with Celebrity and we were the first off the ship. I know I left the ship after 7:15am because my last photo was taken from the ship at that time.

 

There will be a short stop in Anglesea before heading to Memorial Arch. The photos I took at Memorial Arch were taken at 9:52am. The next stop was Apollo Bay for a break and packed lunch on the bus. We got to Apollo Bay at 11:25am. From there we went straight to the 12 apostles. My first photo at the 12 apostles was taken at 1:12pm. Some people arranged a scenic helicopter flight at that place. My last photo was taken at the 12 apostles at 1:20pm. By 1:55pm we were at Loch Ard Gorge. We stayed at Loch Ard Gorge to 2:27pm according to my times on my photos. The last photo I took on that day was on Celebrity Solstice leaving Melbourne at 6:06pm.

 

So yes it is 100% possible. Been there, done that, and have the photos to prove it.

 

I would double check your scheduled time in Melbourne also as we were in Melbourne on Celebrity Solstice from 7am to 6pm.

Yes you did say that they should double check their times, but the OP's question was clear in that the time was 8:00 to 6:00 so when you said:

Not sure where the other people are getting their information from but it is 100% possible.

It was clear who hadn't read the question posed.

And as an aside I love the photos.

Well I have lived in Geelong, the gateway to the GOR for most of my life before moving to the suburbs of Melbourne.

Yes...... It may be possible. But would I recommend it for a tourist from out of town who has to pick up a hire car, , who doesn't know the roads, who may get caught in traffic jams( which happens regularly) and who can't be guaranteed that the ship may wait for him. Definitely not!!

If there's a ship tour, go for it:) the ship will wait:p

Free tram still running but bus now has a nominal fee, something like $5 pp

Yes...... It may be possible. But would I recommend it for a tourist from out of town who has to pick up a hire car, , who doesn't know the roads, who may get caught in traffic jams( which happens regularly) and who can't be guaranteed that the ship may wait for him. Definitely not!!

If there's a ship tour, go for it:) the ship will wait:p

^This.

When I did the drive, I knew exactly where I was going and we left very early to avoid all the traffic jams along the way (we travelled from Hawthorn, just east of the CBD, so getting from M1 CityLink to West Gate Freeway was a challenge in the morning).

It's too risky to do it with a cruise ship - if you are late, the ship won't wait and there isn't a lot of room for error.

Ship excursion tour is a different story, whilst it is a long bus ride, but at least the ship will wait for you if the tour runs late.

I noticed the OP is from Canada - it may also take a while to get used to driving in Australia if this is the first time the OP drives on Australian road.

It's a tight schedule even if the car is waiting for the OP just outside the terminal and assuming there is no accident, road work or traffic jam along the way.

Well I have lived in Geelong, the gateway to the GOR for most of my life before moving to the suburbs of Melbourne.

Yes...... It may be possible. But would I recommend it for a tourist from out of town who has to pick up a hire car, , who doesn't know the roads, who may get caught in traffic jams( which happens regularly) and who can't be guaranteed that the ship may wait for him. Definitely not!!

If there's a ship tour, go for it:) the ship will wait:p

Yes Lizzy77, like you I live in Geelong but before that on a farm down toward 12 Apostles. In my earlier post I agreed with you i.e. if there's a shore excursion organised by Celebrity then go for it...otherwise don't bother. Too many potential problems.

Hey KarateMan, some seriously great photos of the 12 Apostles and the coast. But mate, just relax... no one's calling you a liar. Stare long and hard at your excellent photos and you'll be transported back to when you were there and the tranquil state that natural beauty had you in.

The general theme in the thread is that if a shore excursion by Celebrity is available then do it, other wise don't bother. So we're all relaxed, comfortable and in agreement on that. Happy Days.

Now, I'm off to meditate, burn some incense and listen to some sitar music. Hommmmmmmmm

Hey KarateMan, some seriously great photos of the 12 Apostles and the coast. But mate, just relax... no one's calling you a liar. Stare long and hard at your excellent photos and you'll be transported back to when you were there and the tranquil state that natural beauty had you in.

 

The general theme in the thread is that if a shore excursion by Celebrity is available then do it, other wise don't bother. So we're all relaxed, comfortable and in agreement on that. Happy Days.

 

Now, I'm off to meditate, burn some incense and listen to some sitar music. Hommmmmmmmm

Thanks, I did enjoy the day a great deal and am glad I went there. Even if we spend 30 minutes at Loch Ard Gorge it was good enough for a scenic photo stop. If I want to go back and spend time at that fantastic beach then there is always that option.

As for earlier I find it irritating when people (many other people also) quote my posts and omit vital pieces of information, or misrepresent my true meaning. My response was self explanatory where I went to the trouble of publishing times my photos were taken. The person could read into that as they wished. Given it was Celebrity Solstice they referred to and the same ship I was on, I suggested they double check the times in port. I could see no reason to give a lengthy elaborate reply when the information I gave was perfectly sufficient.

Geez Sutho, nice pics as usual but could you downsize them a little next time.:)